Hetalia: The Fifty Stars

Chapter 25: For Namesake

Arkansas. The 25th state is mostly known for Walmart and hillbillies. His ire against those who perceive him for either stereotype don't come close to what people call him. Bastard? No. Son of a bitch? Not even close. Retarded hillbilly? He would get mad at that, but that's not his biggest pet peeve.

What grinds his gears are people who call him Ar-kan-zes instead of Ar-ken-saw. He'll groan and grow irritable trying to explain in great detail how to say his name. Yet, there are people who continued to say his name wrong despite such corrections. He went so far as to make a law in 1881, officially declaring the 's' in Arkansas to be silent. He hoped this law would put an end to all these mistakes. Sadly, he was wrong.

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"Okay now. Steady your aim, and pull the trigger when you're ready to fire."Texas eased the rifle in Indian Territory's hands, praying he's careful with the dangerous weapon.

A territory at the time, Indian Territory or Oklahoma was rarely around states. He always kept to himself within the borders of his home. He spoke little, especially in English, so few states rarely interacted with him. Indian Territory would've been fine on his own, however, there have been migrants travelling across the country, some he noticed were eager to settle in his home. And so he turned to Tex for help.

"Remember. Keep your eyes on the target and shoot when you're ready," Tex reminded him.

Indian Territory raised the rifle, aiming at the aligned beer bottles that sat on a lone railing in the middle of a field about a hundred meters away. Taking a deep breath, his finger was on the gun, ready to shoot when-

"TEX! TEX! I got wonderful news!" A teenage boy with shaggy, light chestnut hair and bright green eyes darted onto the property.

His loud voice startled Indian Territory's concentration. Subconsciously, his finger pressed the trigger, firing the gun in a giant wham. The loud boom shattered the atmosphere before Tex could stop the young boy. The bullet flew and shot over Arkansas's head, missing the young lad by the thin hair. The delay of Arkansas's high-pitched squeal followed the bullet as it shot over the beer bottles. The bullet completely missing the bottles would've been a bad thing. Instead, the three were fearful, but were relieved seeing no dead bodies on the ground.

Tex grabbed the gun out of Indian's Territory's trembling hands.

She muttered curses of the close-call, shaking her head furiously at Arkansas. "Ya stupid idiot! Cant' you see we're practicing?!" she yelled upset.

Arkansas puffed his cheeks. "You nearly killed me!" he angrily hollered.

He managed to move his frozen feet once more, stomping toward the Texan and Indian.

She scoffed, "No! You nearly killed yourself! He would've drove a bullet in your head if he was an experienced rifleman. Look at him! He's paler than a ghost because of you." Tex turned to a shaken Indian Territory who continued to stare in the far distance.

"Guns are scary..." he uttered hauntingly.

The hillbilly crossed his arms. "Well, thank goodness he missed because otherwise you wouldn't hear the good news I have to tell ya," he said it with a smug look on his face.

Tex and Indian Territory gave him questionable looks.

"This better be good," she grumbled. "So, what is it that nearly got you killed?"

"It's official!" he boasted with a confident smile. "From now on, the official way to say my name is Ar-ken-saw."

Both the Texan and Indian and Indian took a long look at each other before turning back to an excited Arkansas over the supposed "great" news.